We

Look at us, and you will not recognize us. We are the college student who totes an oversized backpack, we are the broken-down man who sits on the dusty park bench. We are the young mother who gazes out of her window longingly, we are the small child hanging from the monkey bars. You do not know us, nor will you ever know us. But we know you. We know who you are, where you are, what you are. We know what you are made of -- strength, resilience, despair, misery. We watch your every move, every day. We look for those who are like us, and we know each other. A glimpse that lasts a millisecond too long, an curt jut of the chin, a faint twitch of the left eye. We nod, but never speak. We avoid each other, afraid of conflict, afraid -- if we had feelings, that is. Who are we? You will never know who we are, what we are -- why we are. But you must know we are there, must know that we speak as one. Find us, and you shall pay the ultimate price.